FRONTLINE: A Death In Tehran

Airs Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 10 p.m. on KPBSTV

Friday, November 13, 2009

Credit: Iason Athanasiadis

Above: "FRONTLINE" investigates the life and death of Neda Soltani whose image remains a potent symbol for those who want to keep the reform movement in Iran alive. Pictured: New York--Iranians protest Ahmadinejad's UN visit on September 23, 2009, carrying an image of Neda Soltani, who was shot and killed on the streets of Tehran following Iran’s controversial presidential election this summer.

At the height of the protests following Iran’s controversial presidential election this summer, a young woman named Neda Soltani was shot and killed on the streets of Tehran. Her death — filmed on a cameraphone, then uploaded to the Web — quickly became an international outrage, and Soltani became the face of a powerful movement that threatened the hardline government’s hold on power. With the help of a unique network of correspondents in and out of the country, "FRONTLINE" investigates the life and death of the woman whose image remains a potent symbol for those who want to keep the reform movement alive.

The film also explores a number of unanswered questions in the aftermath of the greatest upheaval in Iran since the 1979 revolution: How many were arrested and killed as the security forces attempted to contain the growing protest movement? To what extent was the presidential vote manipulated? What is the nature of the reported divisions among Iran’s ruling elites? Watch the full program online.

Frontline: A Death In Tehran

"FRONTLINE" examines the life and death of Neda Agha Soltan -- whose murder during Iran's post-election protests was filmed on a camera phone and uploaded to the web -- and how her name became a rallying cry for the reform movement in "A Death in Tehran."